Sharel Cassity & Elektra - Evolve

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 2018
File: MP3@128K/s
Time: 43:35
Size: 40,9 MB
Art: Front

(5:44) 1. Evolve
(5:35) 2. New Day
(6:24) 3. All Is Full of Love
(0:40) 4. Be the Change (Intro)
(5:26) 5. Be the Change
(3:52) 6. Wishing Star
(5:11) 7. The Here, the Now
(5:59) 8. Echoes of Home
(4:40) 9. Outlier

"With its R&B and funk grooves and rock and hip-hop energy, Evolve seems to wear its title as an imperative. Certainly it’s a long stride from alto saxophonist Sharel Cassity’s prior three records of straight-ahead swing. Yet it works; in fact, it triumphs....With any luck, Evolve will establish her as a household name among jazz audiences" Michael J. West, Jazz Times

Sharel Cassity explores new directions with her funky new project, "Elektra." A blend of soul, jazz, rock, gospel, hip hop & electronica, Elektra's mission is to create groove based and creative music that appeals to a general audience as well as the avid jazz listener. Cassity's writing for this project spans from originals to arrangements of popular songs by Bjork and Alicia Keys. Elektra is comprised of some of the most renowned musicians in the industry today. https://www.sharelcassity.com/product-page/autographed-copy-of-evolve

Personnel: Sharel Cassity - Saxes; Mark Whitfield - guitar; Miki Hayama - Keys; Linda Oh - bass; Jonathan Barber & Lucianna Padmore - drums; Ingrid Jensen, Marcus Printup, Freddie Hendrix - trumpet; Riza Printup - harp

Evolve

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Linda Oh - Walk Against Wind

Styles: Vocal, Post Bop
Year: 2017
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 63:33
Size: 146,2 MB
Art: Front

(7:48) 1. Lucid Lullaby
(3:44) 2. Firedancer
(6:57) 3. Speech Impediment
(3:55) 4. Perpluzzle
(7:28) 5. Walk Against Wind
(6:51) 6. Ikan Bilis
(4:16) 7. Mother Reason
(4:54) 8. Mantis
(6:38) 9. Deepsea Dancers
(6:42) 10. Midnight
(4:15) 11. Western

On the exquisite Walk Against Wind bassist Linda May Han Oh showcases her unique compositional style that rivals, artistically, her mastery over her instrument and her improvisational prowess. These 11 originals express various motifs reflecting Oh's diverse influences yet a delightfully dark poetry imbues all of them, giving the album its thematic unity. The intensely cinematic "Speech Impediment," for instance, has a languid melody and shimmering refrains. Oh's Lilting, wordless vocals echo saxophonist Ben Wendel wistful lines. As the tempo picks up the tune becomes crisper and more hypnotic. Wendel and guitarist Matthew Stevens exchange thrillingly dissonant lines over drummer Justin Brown's thunderous beats and Oh's thumping bass. Brown's dynamic solo ushers in the concluding head.

Brown opens the atmospheric "Ikan Bilis" with his haunting drumming that endows the music with a primal spirituality. Pianist Fabian Almazan makes a guest appearance as he and the other band members contribute their respective introspective musings. The individual instrumental voices coalesce into a mystical and memorable ensemble performance that has an undercurrent of subtle funky rhythms. Almazan's chiming keys and Stevens' resonant notes mix in with Oh and Brown's percolating cadence to buoy Wendel's warmly wailing tenor.

Another guest, Korean traditional percussionist Minji Park, adds an Eastern touch to the expectant "Mantis" with her exotic janggu & kkwaenggwari. Oh takes center stage with complex and lyrical extemporization that is intriguingly crepuscular. Wendel's yearning, fiery phrases thrillingly contrast with the contemplative serenity of the rest of the track. The pensive and dramatic "Deepsea Dancers" demonstrates Western Classical hints especially in the melodic fragments that are its building blocks. Stevens and Wendel alternate eloquent spontaneous monologues that are sometimes stimulatingly angular and at others elegantly fluid. Oh's muscular reverberations and Brown's soft thuds and brushing add an element of tension to the overall mood.

Walking Against Wind is a mature work that perfectly balances different musical elements. The prewritten and the spontaneously created seamlessly meld and miscellaneous inspirations fuse into a singular and sublime whole. It is Oh's best release to date and, hopefully, a sign of what is to come next.~ HRAYR ATTARIAN https://www.allaboutjazz.com/walk-against-wind-linda-oh-biophilia-records-review-by-hrayr-attarian.php

Personnel: Linda May Han Oh: bass, voice; Ben Wendel: saxophone; Matthew Stevens: guitar; Justin Brown:drums; Fabian Almazan: piano (2, 6, 10); Minji Park: janggu & kkwaenggwari(8).

Walk Against Wind

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Melissa Stylianou - No Regrets

Styles: Vocal
Year: 2014
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 56:23
Size: 131,1 MB
Art: Front

(4:34) 1. Nice Work If You Can Get It
(3:29) 2. Remind Me
(7:10) 3. I Got It Bad (Feat. Billy Drewes)
(5:07) 4. Humming To Myself
(5:14) 5. I Wish I Knew
(3:40) 6. Somebody's On My Mind (Feat. Anat Cohen and Linda Oh)
(3:31) 7. Down by the Salley Gardens (Feat. Matt Wilson)
(5:31) 8. A Nightingale Can Sing The Blues (Feat. Billy Drewes)
(8:06) 9. I'll Never Be The Same (Feat. Anat Cohen)
(6:30) 10. Polkadots and Moonbeams
(3:26) 11. I Mean You (Feat. Bruce Barth)

Canadian by birth and training, the singer Melissa Stylianou has been living in New York for a decade now, where she has made herself known and appreciated for her valuable collaborations ( Ben Monder , Chris Lightcap , Matt Wilson , Rodney Green ) and concerts in prestigious clubs like Blue Note, Iridium, Jazz Standard or Birdland. If in the previous four discs he faced a varied repertoire, alternating well-known standards with themes by Tom Waits , Biörk or Johnny Cash, in this No Regrets he chooses to immerse himself in tradition accompanied by a first-rate trio, including pianist Bruce Barth , the double bass playerLinda May Han Oh and drummer Matt Wilson . In some pieces the clarinetist Anat Cohen and the saxophonist Billy Drewes participate as guests. The record was also recorded in the most traditional way: live in a single session, with a double track recorder.

Stylianou is a singer with a clear and sensual timbre, who manifests her jazz identity with a brilliant technique and an intense interpretative taste. His singing favors atmospheres of intimate colloquiality but knows how to soar in moments of whimsical rhythmic tension. The disc is a nice roundup of well-known standards and a few songs that are not very popular but with a valuable "historical curriculum." Among them we have "Somebody's on My Mind,"Billie Holiday is linked to her magical interpretation, the archaic "Humming to Myself" sung by Connee Boswell , or "A Nightingale Can Sing the Blues," linked to the languid versions of Peggy Lee and Julie London .

Melissa offers us successful versions of it, for elegance and sobriety, accompanied from time to time by Anat Cohen, Linda Oh and Billy Drewes. Another happy choice, which goes beyond the jazz tradition, is the traditional "Down by the Salley Gardens" sung with poetic intensity with only the accompaniment of the drums. Among the best known themes, we particularly appreciated the dynamic version of the Monkian "I Mean You," in duo with Bruce Barth. Translate By Google.... https://www.allaboutjazz.com/no-regrets-melissa-stylianou-anzic-records-review-by-angelo-leonardi.php

Personnel: Melissa Stylianou: vocals; Bruce Barth: piano; Linda Oh: double bass; Matt Wilson: drums. Guests: Anat Cohen: clarinet; Billy Drewes: alto sax.

No Regrets

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